Come Crying to Me
by evenstarundomiel
Summary: a birthday fic for sage. song by lonestar.
1. come crying to me

Okay. . . usual deal here. I don't own NEWSIES. Sagey owns herself and Katie. Lonestar owns "Come Crying to me". Enjoy the story and leave feedback. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY SAGE!  
  
Sage McBride hurried into the bunkroom and threw herself down on her bunk. She buried her face in her thin pillow and began to sob uncontrollably. "Chloe you stupid girl! You know he hates it when you're late and what do you do? You sleep in! Of COURSE he's going to be angry!" Sage shuddered as the sobs racked her body. She ran to the washroom, coughing and sputtering in pain as a wave of nausea swept over her.  
  
When the girl returned to her bunk, Skittery looked up from his bed in the corner, surprised to see her in such a state. "Not again," he thought, wondering what her explanation would be this time. After getting to know Sage, Skittery began to develop feelings for her that could be considered more than simple friendship. He had been planning to ask her to be his girl but Jack beat him to it. It hurt Skittery terribly to see her suffering in such a way.  
  
"Sage?" She looked up and found herself face to face with Skittery. She wiped away her tears hurriedly before answering him.  
  
"Yeah, Skitts?" her voice was uneven, no matter how hard she tried to make herself sound normal.  
  
"Ya arright?" Skittery sat down on the bed next to her. It was then that he noticed the new bruise that was rapidly forming on her right cheek. He reached out a hand to try to touch her face. Sage flinched and moved away from him.  
  
"I'm fine thanks," she answered softly, turning away. "Just tired is all..." she lied, biting her lip. She wished that he would just leave her alone- she needed time to think. But Skittery wouldn't give up. He was incredibly worried about his friend. For the past couple of weeks, Sage hadn't been herself. She was sick often and only sold for half of the day. Not to mention, it was well known throughout the Lodging House that relations between her and Jack, her longtime boyfriend, were strained.  
  
i can see it in your eyes  
  
you're living a troubled life  
  
and you've been hurting more and more these days  
  
"Sage who did this to you?" he asked gently, placing his hand on her back. In his head, Skittery already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from her. Again Sage flinched and the boy quickly withdrew his hand. "Sagey please... you're making me so worried. You haven't been yourself for weeks now. All the guys are worried. You can trust me..."  
  
Sage bit her lip and turned over. "Some guy wanted more than a paper from me, Skitts, nothing unusual." Her voice was barely audible. She wanted so badly to tell him the truth- to have him tell her that things would be okay again- but she couldn't. If she were to tell anyone, it would cause uproar in the Lodging House and she did not want to upset things for everyone. After all, things would improve eventually if she changed her ways.  
  
you don't have to hide it, don't even have to fight it  
  
baby all you have to do is turn and walk away  
  
"Sage I know it's more than that... if someone's hurting you, it ain't right. If you need anything... come find me arright? I won't tell anyone or do anything you don't want me to do... I just wanna help you," he said gently. Skittery leaned down and kissed her cheek just below the ugly purple bruise. Then he stood up and left the room, heading out to sell the afternoon edition.  
  
"Why won't she trust me?" he asked himself. It was then that the answer came to him. Sage first felt sick three weeks ago. That's when she and Jack started fighting and the bruises began to appear regularly. Could Jack really hurt her? He shook his head, not able to believe that his friend, who so adored Sage, would do such a thing. And then he thought of a reason that could have provoked the boy into beating up his girlfriend. It would explain her strange behavior as well as her sickness. Was she pregnant? Skittery shook his head and said aloud, "I'll murder him..." His voice had an angry bite to it that was rarely heard.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A few hours after her conversation with Skittery, someone roughly shook Sage from sleep. She opened her eyes and stared up into Jack's face.  
  
"Get up..." he said, yanking her to her feet. Sage glared at him. "Don't you look at me like that..." he warned her, his eyes flashing dangerously. "We're getting rid of that kid... now," he squeezed her forearm. Sage hung her head.  
  
"Jack, please..." she whispered, his grip on her arm hurting her. She felt a fresh wave of nausea sweep over her.  
  
"What?" he snapped. "Don't give me more of your excuses, I'm sick of hearing it. Quit stalling, we're getting rid of that baby tonight," He glared at her again.  
  
"I feel sick... please let me go," she said simply, staring intently at her hands. Jack laughed harshly.  
  
"Well that ain't my fault! If you hadn't gone and gotten yourself pregnant that wouldn't be a problem now would it?"  
  
"Jack I told you... this baby is yours..." Sage's eyes flashed, her fear of him surpassed by her desire to protect her reputation. "I didn't do anything with anyone other than you and you know that very well..." she shouted, her anger overtaking her.  
  
"Will you shut up? The guys will hear you downstairs!" Jack slapped Sage and the impact of the blow threw her against the wall. He stepped up to her and held her arms over her head, pinned to the wood surface. "And I don't care what you say... that kid ain't mine!" he shouted. Sage shook her head, the anger evident in her eyes. However, he was much stronger than her, and she lacked the strength to really fight back.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Her head was pounding and she felt her eyes pricking. "Jack... please..." She bit her lip hard, desperately trying to hold back the tears of pain. At that moment, the door of the bunkroom opened and Skittery walked in, followed by Mush and Blink. Jack forced himself upon Sage and kissed her hard. He pulled away just a little when they passed by.  
  
"Say anything and you'll regret it..." he whispered harshly, pretending to be kissing her neck. Sage squirmed a little but soon gave up. The boys looked over at the couple and shook their heads, sitting down on the floor near Mush's bunk. They began to play a friendly game of poker. Skittery however, was distracted. He watched Sage instead of looking at his cards.  
  
"Will you be joining us, Jack?" Blink asked, looking up at the Manhattan leader, who turned around and walked toward them. "I'll be taking you out later, Sage," he said to her in his usual tone. Sage didn't respond but instead took the opportunity to slip away and ran to the hall. From there she slid out the window and quietly made her way up to the rooftop. Skittery watched her go and quickly followed her, his fears confirmed by the sight he had just witnessed.  
  
"I wonder if she'll listen this time?" he asked himself out loud as he climbed the stairs.  
  
when you're tired of it all, when tears need to fall  
  
when your back's to the wall, come crying to me  
  
On the roof, Sage slumped against the wall. She pulled her knees up against her chest and stared out at the sky, a single tear running down her cheek. She heard someone approaching and tried to hide in the shadows, thinking that Jack was coming after her.  
  
"Sagey?" Skittery's voice broke the darkness. He looked around all over the rooftop before finally turning around to face the wall against which she was leaning. "Sage... it's Skitts..." he said gently as he sat down next to her.  
  
"Go away, Skitts, I'm fine..." she insisted, again trying to turn away from him. Skittery shook his head and turned her all the way around, forcing her to face him.  
  
"And my name's Joseph Pulitzer," he answered evenly. "I know Jack's beating on you Sage and I know why..." he said softly. "You can trust me..."  
  
you don't have to be strong, you don't have to hold on  
  
when you've been there too long, come crying to me  
  
"Skitts..." she said softly. She looked up at him, fear in her eyes. "I can't tell you..."  
  
"I won't say anything to anyone... I just don't want to see you this way." He pulled her onto his lap, staring straight at her. "I'm here for you, okay?"  
  
i'll leave the living room light burning all night  
  
no don't even pack, don't even look back  
  
baby, come crying to me  
  
Finally, Sage decided to give in. She leaned her head against his shoulder.  
  
"Okay..." She took a deep breath. "You know I'm going out with Jack... and everyone knows we've been fighting," her voice was barely audible. Skittery nodded and rubbed her back, encouraging her to continue. She wrapped her arms around him as she felt the tears come. "I thought he loved me... that's why I..." she sobbed, "why we... I gave myself to him, Skittery," she whispered, blushing deeply, thankful for the darkness.  
  
"It's okay Sage... it's okay..." Skittery answered, holding her tight.  
  
you can get beyond this  
  
all those empty promises  
  
they don't have to hold you down no more  
  
"No... it's not okay..." she said firmly. "I'm pregnant with his child, Skitts." She buried her face in his chest. "He says the baby isn't his... that I must've whored myself. And he wants me to see a doctor..." He had to struggle to hear her. "To get rid of it..." she added, her voice again uneven. "Skitts I don't know what to do..." she looked up at him, trembling slightly.  
  
"You don't want to give up the baby, do you Sage?" Skittery asked gently. She shook her head. "Then don't get rid of it..." he said evenly. "If you're worried about Jack, we can go somewhere. I'll keep you safe, Sagey. I promise you." His words hit Sage hard. She simply nodded at him and tried to make sense of the events that had passed, but found herself unable to do so. "Get some rest," Skittery's comforting voice interrupted her thoughts. She tried to speak to him but he shook his head. "Sleep now." With that, Sage closed her eyes and fell quickly into a dream world. She was peaceful for the first time since she'd known of the baby's existence. Skittery smiled down at her, whispering and rocking her gently until he was positive that she was fast asleep. He then carried her down to her bunk and placed her on the bed, so glad that Sage had finally decided to open up to him and that he would be able to help the girl whom he so adored.  
  
i'll leave the living room light burning all night  
  
no don't even pack don't even look back  
  
baby, come crying to me 


	2. without your love

~* Nine Months Later *~  
  
Sage sat on the windowsill of the tiny apartment in Manhattan that she and Skittery were now sharing. After her confession on the rooftop, she agreed to leave the Lodging House with him in order to save her unborn baby and herself. Her numerous bruises had finally faded and she was learning to smile again.  
  
Skittery crept up behind her and placed one hand gently over her eyes. He rested the other lightly on her hip, pulling her into a standing position.  
  
"Guess who..." he whispered softly.  
  
"Oh... I don' have the slightest idea," she answered, pretending to be deep in thought. "I wasn't expecting anyone..."  
  
"I'll give ya a hint then, Sage," he whispered, before stepping in front of her, still holding his hand over her eyes. Skittery then removed his hand, leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers before kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. When they pulled back from one another, both of them were beaming.  
  
"Why I didn't notice ya first Skitts, I'll never understand..." She rested her forehead against his as she spoke.  
  
"Cause you were savin' the best for last," he answered, a genuine grin on his face. Sage laughed and kissed him again, so thankful that he had refused to give up on her, even when she didn't give him the attention he deserved.  
  
what if my eyes had walked right past you  
  
what if my heart had never asked you  
  
to come and take the chains that kept me weighted down  
  
if you never saved me oh I know I'd still be  
  
walking in sinking sand, flying with no place to land  
  
"Where's Katie?" Skittery asked softly, pulling her closer to him. His strong hands applied gentle pressure on her back and he tilted his head to nip at the soft skin on her neck.  
  
"Sleeping... she's out cold..." Sage responded in a low whisper, having to concentrate extra hard on her words. Skittery's actions were reminiscent of those of Jack; she was about to pull away when he locked his eyes with hers and she couldn't bring herself to move away. Skittery smiled at her and gulped nervously.  
  
"Chloe, I love you," was his simple statement. Sage knew by the look in his eyes that he was truthful and serious in his declaration. She knew then that Skitts, unlike Jack, would always be there for her.  
  
Sage blinked back joyous tears and with a trembling voice she replied, "And I love you, Justin."  
  
oh i'd be lost searching for you  
  
heaven would be out of reach  
  
my soul left incomplete  
  
that's where i'd be without your love  
  
Skittery's eyes widened and he smiled broadly. "I never thought I'd hear you say that," he said, the smile evident even in his tone of voice. Sage laughed at this.  
  
"I didn't think I would either Skitts, but I-" she was cut off as he placed two fingers against her lips, silencing her.  
  
"Wait..." he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately, the connection unlike any that the two had previously shared. Sage was about to open her eyes after the kiss when he whispered again. "Don't..." She nodded and complied with his wishes, trusting him implicitly.  
  
you're the reason that i feel so safe  
  
the way you hold me holds my heart in place  
  
i'm just thankful to be where i am right now  
  
without your arms around me i'd be where you found me  
  
"Okay..." Sage then opened her eyes and gasped at the figure kneeling before her.  
  
"Justin, what the-" It was then that Skittery calmly slipped a plain silver band onto her finger and kissed it ever so delicately. Sage bit her lip, wondering where this had come from.  
  
"Chloe McBride," he began, "I've liked you since the day we met and have love you for almost that long..." he took a deep breath and then went on. "Will you be my girl forever?" Sage was so shocked that she couldn't' speak. "Sagey... marry me?" he asked, his eyes searching her face for some sort of response.  
  
Sage nodded heartily. Tears of joy poured down her cheeks. "Justin I- oh god- yes... I will," she managed to choke out, desperately trying to regain her composure. She helped Skittery to his feet and wrapped her arms around him once more.  
  
walking in sinking sand, flying with no place to land  
  
oh i'd be lost searching for you  
  
Both Sage and Skittery were in utter disbelief. "You... you will?" he asked, thinking that he must be dreaming.  
  
"Yes Justin. It would be crazy to refuse you." She stepped closer to him and stared into his dark, soulful eyes. It was at that moment, while staring into his soul that Sage felt truly healed. With Skittery's declaration and proof of love, she was finally able to move on from her mistake with Jack.  
  
"Thank you Justin," she whispered, her green eyes sparkling brightly. Skittery smiled and held her close, so glad to know that he had helped his best friend- the person whom me cared most about in the world- to become herself once more. He couldn't think of any better way to hear that his attempts to save her had been successful.  
  
"You're more than welcome," he answered. She rested her head on his shoulder and busied herself in an attempt to freeze the last few minutes in her memory for good. She smiled up at him and held him tight, so glad that she would soon be bound to him for all eternity- her closest friend and ally in addition to her husband to be. She only wished that it could have all happened to her sooner.  
  
heaven would be out of reach  
  
my soul left incomplete  
  
that's where i'd be without your love 


End file.
